Mark Cody enters his fourth year as the head wrestling coach at the University of Oklahoma for the 2014-15 season.

In his first year at the helm of the program, Cody led the Sooners to a 13th-place finish at the 2012 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo., with a 13-5 overall record. In addition to his team's finish, Cody produced his first two All-Americans in the Crimson and Cream in Kendric Maple (141) and Nick Lester (147).

The following season, the Sooners claimed a 12th-place showing at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Under Cody’s leadership, five Sooners (Cody Brewer, Maple, N. Lester, Matt Lester and Patrick Graham) qualified for the national tournament.

Cody produced his first national champion at OU as he coached Maple to the 141-pound individual NCAA Championship. Maple, who topped Edinboro’s No. 4 Mitchell Port with a 4-3 decision, became the first Sooner to claim a title since 2005.

Maple also earned the second All-America honors of his career with the performance, and redshirt freshman Brewer finished seventh at 133 pounds to earn the first of his career.

The 2013-14 season saw Cody lead his squad to its best postseason finish of his tenure, finishing 10th place at the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. A trio of Sooners in Andrew Howe (second at 174), Maple (eighth at 149) and Brewer (eighth at 133) earned All-America status. For the year, OU recorded an 11-5 overall record.

Not only have Cody's Sooners found success on the mat, they have also excelled in the classroom as he's coached a total of 11 National Wrestling Coaches Association Division I All-Academic team selections, including three in 2011-12 and two in 2012-13. In 2014, OU placed a nation-best six wrestlers on the squad and tied for 11th place on the All-Academic Team standings with a combined 3.16 GPA.

Cody, arrived in Norman after nine years at American University, led the Eagles to a program-best fifth-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Championships. The team produced three All-Americans after qualifying six for the tournament, while also posting a school record 3.48 grade point average.

"The wrestling community has watched Mark Cody do remarkable things with his teams at American," said Joe Castiglione, Oklahoma's Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and Athletics Director on the hiring of Cody in 2011. "He has maximized limited resources to take a program that was once struggling and transform it into one of the strongest in the country. Along the way, he has earned the respect of his peers as not only a great program builder, but an outstanding teacher and leader.

"We have watched Mark's work and spoken with a number of people in the profession who are familiar with him. He is held in very high regard and has proven his ability to operate a program at an extremely high level."

Cody explained that it was tradition and the people of the Sooner state that attracted him to the job.

"I think back on Tommy Evans, Stan Abel, Jack Spates and the other men who coached there and I really appreciate the tradition they established," Cody said. "It's a responsibility to take that over, but it's also encouraging because it's a school that appreciates and expects success."

Two stints at Oklahoma State taught the New York native all he needed to know about Oklahomans.

"People make the place and I have always loved the people in Oklahoma," he said. "I lived there twice and always felt they were some of the nicest people in the world."

Recent improvements at OU's wrestling facility caught Cody's attention and said things like the upgrades at the Port Robertson Center send a strong message.

"The improvements to the facilities indicate a commitment to the sport and that's something that has a great impact on recruiting," he said. "The cupboard is full there in terms of the resources and I look forward to getting started."

The Cody File

Hometown

Binghamton, N.Y.

College

Bellevue University, 1985

Family

wife, Holly sons George, Charlie, Henry and Norman

Coaching History

2011-present

Oklahoma Head Coach

2002-2011

American Head Coach

2000-2002

Oklahoma State Assistant Coach

1988-2000

Nebraska Assistant Coach

1986-1987

Oklahoma State Assistant Coach

1985-1986

Bloomsburg Assistant Coach

1984-1985

Missouri Assistant Coach

Coaching Accomplishments

2011 NWCA National Wrestling Coach of the Year

Led American to a fifth-place finish at NCAAs in 2011

His 2011 team also posted a school-record 3.48 GPA

Has produced 21 All-Americans since 2005

32 of his wrestlers have earned All-Academic team honors

Cody's work at American was beyond impressive. He took over the program just after it had been dropped and then resurrected with just 4.5 scholarships available for seven wrestlers. Finally, in 2005, the Eagles broke through with their first national qualifiers. The team went on to post top-25 team finishes in the NCAA Tournament from 2006-2011. In 2008, American added wrestling as only its third fully-funded sport.

"People thought I was crazy when I took the job, but we always had a plan for recruiting, fund-raising and running the program," said Cody.

Some $180,000 were raised in the programs first year and that total has risen to nearly $1 million over the length of Cody's nine seasons.

Now he can look back on a tenure that included the school's first national champion, 14 All-Americans and 16 NCAA qualifiers (all since 2005) and 21 academic All-Americans.

Cody came to American after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State. He helped OSU to a Big 12 Championship and a fifth-place finish at the 2002 NCAA Championships. In addition, the squad earned recognition from the NWCA as a top-25 academic team, and two were named Academic All-America by the NWCA. Nine were also named to the Academic All-Big 12 team.

Before joining Oklahoma State, Cody served as the upper-weights coach for 12 years at the University of Nebraska. During that time, he was responsible for bringing in some of the nation's top recruiting classes, including national champions Tolly Thompson (Hwt.) and Brad Vering (197). Vering later became a two-time Olympian with Cody in his corner.

While Cody was at Nebraska, 23 Cornhuskers were named All-America, including Rulon Gardner, who later captured the heavyweight gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

Cody spent the 1986-87 season as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State. He was also an assistant at Bloomsburg University during the 1985-86 season and for the University of Missouri in 1984-85.

As a student-athlete, Cody was a three-time All-American. He spent two years at the State University of New York at Delhi before transferring to Missouri in 1983. His greatest success came during his senior season, 1984-85, when he earned All-America status and was named the team's Most Outstanding Wrestler. Cody still ranks in Missouri's single season top-10 for falls (17) and winning percentage (.875). He graduated from Bellevue University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business.

A member of the New York Athletic Club, he was a 198-pound finalist at the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials.

A native of Binghamton, N.Y., Cody and his wife, Holly, have four sons, George, Charlie, Henry and Norman.

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